HOLLYWOOD , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Director Antoine Fuqua , the force behind films such as `` Training Day '' and `` Shooter , '' turned his focus to creating CNN 's exclusive short film `` From MLK to Today , '' which airs at 7 p.m. ET Monday .

Filmmaker Antoine Fuqua , 43 , says he did n't believe he would see an African-American president in his lifetime .

Before flying off to the Sundance Film Festival to premiere his latest action-thriller , `` Brooklyn 's Finest , '' starring Richard Gere , Ethan Hawke and Don Cheadle , Fuqua , 43 , stopped by the CNN newsroom in Hollywood to discuss the making of this film .

He outlined his vision for the piece , which chronicles America 's civil rights journey from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Barack Obama .

CNN : As a filmmaker , you work with people like Don Cheadle , Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington . Why are you sitting here in our edit bay doing this project ?

Antoine Fuqua : Because it 's Martin Luther King , and because it 's Barack Obama 's story . And because it 's CNN . It 's important to be a part of history , and a part of inspiring people today . I think this is one of the biggest times in my life -- besides my children . So why would n't I be here ? What else would I be doing except flying to Sundance to promote my movie ! -LSB- Laughs -RSB- Watch a clip from `` From MLK to Today '' ''

CNN : You were born in the '60s , so you were very young during the civil rights movement . You were barely out of diapers when Martin Luther King was assassinated .

Fuqua : I am familiar with the history because I love history . African-Americans -- I feel we can not ever forget our past . Not in an angry or negative way -- just to know where we come from , so we get a better sense of where we 're going , and how to get there , and what not to do . I do n't think you can ever forget Martin Luther King and many other people who sacrificed , whose names we do n't even know .

CNN : What do you remember from your childhood ?

Fuqua : I remember being afraid at times . I remember the Black Panthers . When I was a little boy , the men that were around me were part of a movement . There was a lot of tension . There were a lot of weapons around . There was talk of FBI . I was a little kid , you know -- 6 , 5 years old . I did n't really know what it meant . But there was a lot of fear -- a lot of fear of police , or of leaving your neighborhood .

CNN : Did you experience much racism growing up in Pittsburgh ?

Fuqua : I remember a lot of racism . I mean , we used to get beat up by the police . We used to go to certain areas , and cops would slap you around , and grab you by your collar and treat you a certain way . I remember getting on a bus and drivers would treat us disrespectfully , assuming we were going to misbehave . And we were just going to school . I got into fights at school . ... No real reason , except for color of the skin . I do n't think they even understood really .

CNN : Did you understand ?

Fuqua : Not really . I did n't really understand it . I was used to it . I had an understanding of it at that age , which was I was black and they were white , and I was poor and they had money .

CNN : Did you think there were certain things you could n't accomplish because you were black ? What about being a director ?

Fuqua : When I was a little kid , I used to sleep in my grandmother 's basement , and I would read magazines , and books and things -- and I would dream of places I would go . I remember thinking , `` Well , if it 's just a matter of money to leave my neighborhood , then I have to make money . ''

Then I read something about craftsmanship -- which is not a word you used often in that time in the ghettos . If you learn a craft , then you can make a living for the rest of your life .

So I went to school to be an electrical engineer . And when I was in school , I took a Baroque art class . They were talking about Caravaggio , who was a Baroque painter . Now he was from the streets in Italy , and he used to paint these very provocative paintings of people he lived with on the streets -- beggars , and prostitutes and things .

It reminded me of my world -- in the sense of being a young kid on the streets , growing up , seeing a lot of provocative images that I was probably too young to see -- and I would express them , and I would do little illustrations or I would paint on a wall .

Then I started to study -LSB- Akira -RSB- Kurosawa , who was a painter as well as a director . I saw his movies -- `` The Seven Samurai '' and all that -- and I thought , `` Wow , that 's even more interesting , because it 's a moving picture and you get to tell a story . ''

CNN : And now you 're telling the story of Martin Luther King and Barack Obama . Did you ever think you 'd see an African-American president of the United States ?

Fuqua : Never . Never . Not in my time . I thought somewhere down the line it would happen , but not in my time -- because I still deal with racial situations . Sometimes people do n't do it blatantly . They 'll say something , or they 'll behave a certain way when I know they do n't normally behave that way . As a director , you run into walls where they say , `` Well , it does n't translate well overseas . You know , you need to have a white movie star in it . '' There 's some truth to that . So if Hollywood 's not ready to embrace more stories about African-Americans -- and that 's based on the money that the movies make -- then would the country really be ready to embrace a president ? You know , the CEO of the country ? And obviously , we are . We are ready .

CNN : As a director , you have this story about an unbelievable presidential election , where a first-term senator wins . Would you have cast Barack Obama in that role ?

Fuqua : In a heartbeat , in a heartbeat . He 's like a movie star . Look at the guy . He 's dashing , he 's charming , he 's got a little swagger about him . He reminds me of Denzel in their way . -LSB- Fuqua directed Washington in the 2001 action-thriller `` Training Day . '' -RSB- I was with Denzel over Christmas , and they 're very similar -- their mannerisms at times .

CNN : In the short film you 're directing for us , you 've drawn the parallel between Obama and Martin Luther King .

Fuqua : It is the passing of the torch between Martin Luther King and Barack Obama . I think Barack Obama is the `` dream . '' I mean , we 're all the dream . I think it 's a bigger picture than one man .

CNN : What 's the message you want to convey with your short film ?

Fuqua : Hope . A sense of the past . But more than anything , I would love people to walk away feeling like we 've just begun .

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Director Antoine Fuqua is filmmaker behind CNN 's `` From MLK to Today ''

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Fuqua discusses life , experiences with racism and the hope Barack Obama brings

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Fuqua , director of `` Training Day , '' compares Obama with Denzel Washington

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Fuqua 's latest feature-length project , `` Brooklyn 's Finest , '' screened at Sundance fest